If I had known, I would have gone down to volunteer. -andrea NJ Vandalized Cemetery gets TLC from Volunteers Leaving no stone overturned....Volunteers repair, maintain graves at vandalized Bridgeton cemetery (10/17/05) BRIDGETON-Hannah R. Hood's headstone is visible again. Working with a metal tripod and a block and tackle, volunteers from the First Presbyterian Church were grunting and sweating Sunday as they righted several headstones, including Hood's, that had been toppled by vandals at the city's historic Broad Street cemetery. Hood's stone was particularly problematic, since it had snapped at its base. With some quick thinking, and in this case more muscle than block and tackle, Hood's stone was propped up in front of the base and partially buried. "That's not going anywhere," said Bill Horn, one of the volunteers. "That's in there tight." That wasn't the case for all the stones, some of which just can't be restored to their former glory. "With the older ones especially, they can't take being pushed over and they snap," said Bruce Hankins, one of the organizers of the cleanup. "The best we can do is prop them up." Many of the headstones are very old. While Hood's stone dated to 1945, other graves in the cemetery date to the late 1700s and several stones date to the 1800s. In the past week, righting stones at the cemetery has become a full-time job after it was discovered that as many as 100 had been vandalized and pushed over. Throughout the week, county prisoners, as well as local Boy Scout troops, have worked to right stones. On Sunday, the church held a volunteer day for cleanup, one of two or three held each year. "It's really just all volunteers from the church," Hankins said. "Of course this time we got some publicity because of the vandalism and some people showed up today who aren't with the church. They just showed up to help and it was great. We appreciated it." For the First Presbyterian Church, the old cemetery can be a mixed labor of love. There is no question that the cemetery ranks as one of Bridgeton's most cherished historic gems. It boasts, among other things, the graves of 195 Civil War veterans, several Revolutionary War veterans, including the grave of a Hessian soldier, and family plots for most, if not all, of the prominent family names in the history of Bridgeton. On the other hand, the cemetery also presents a lot of work. Parts are overgrown and some of the oldest headstones are half-buried under vines and shrubs. On Sunday, volunteers cleared brush with chainsaws and carted off several truckloads of clippings and debris while other teams worked the block and tackle. Luckily, the recent vandalism didn't result in many stones breaking, but broken stones, as well as pieces of monuments and memorials, are strewn throughout the site. "The church doesn't always have the resources to maintain this the way we would like," Hankins said. "In modern cemeteries, you pay into a trust fund that supports maintenance costs in perpetuity. But they never really thought of that in the 1700s. So we try and do the best we can." One of the best-preserved areas of the cemetery is a special section where 69 Civil War veterans are buried. Most are from volunteer units from Cumberland County that fought at battles such Fredericksburg. The circle of graves is near a monument to local Gen. Alexander Robeson, who died in that battle, although his body was not recovered. "This was done in the style of Civil War cemeteries starting in the late 1800s," said Horn. "It's done in circle with areas for paths. The idea was that that there would be less reason to walk on the graves." Although he is not a member of the church, Horn has helped maintain the graves of the Civil War veterans for nearly 30 years. "What's fascinating is that there are four graves for veterans of what was called 'colored troops' in the circle," he said. "It was unusual at the time for black and white soldiers to be buried together. That's another interesting point about this place." But there is little that isn't interesting about a cemetery that often has graves from the 20th century nestled against 19th century memorials. The oldest parts of the cemetery are also a testament to the harshness of life - there are dozens of markers for children and infants. Despite its history, however, threats to the cemetery are constant. The area is a known spot for the homeless, who often litter the ground with bottles. And signs of vandalism dating back for decades are apparent. The only line of defense at the moment is the volunteers, who give up a couple of Sundays each year to clear up what nature has covered and right what vandals have wronged. "It's a very satisfying feeling to be out here," said Annie Frazier, a member of the church who was clipping away vines that had covered several headstones. "You know you're doing something good. It's a beautiful morning and this is such an interesting place to be. And I like clearing off the headstones. I want to know who they were." Article from Press of Atlantic City-10/17/2005

I live in Mercer County , NJ and have relatives buried in Broad Street Cemetery,Bridgeton,NJ. I would like to thank all who volunteered to clean up and right stones toppled by vandals at Broad Street Cemetery Bridgeton, NJ I visited the cemetery in 2000 and located several family members graves located in the SW Section Plot 488-489. I was unable to locate other family graves of Ephraim Shaw & wife Judith located in the NW Section, as I did not have the plot numbers. Could anyone tell me if a list of the plot numbers still exists.? Thanks again to all who gave there time and effort for this project. Bob Shaw Hamilton, NJ

Bob The Cumberland County Historical Society in Greenwich, NJ has a copy of the sexton's book and plot map of the cemetery. I found information during a visit in 2003, on a Civil War veteran who died in 1913. Russ -----Original Message----- From: Robert Shaw [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 9:14 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [NJCUMBER] Broad St Presbyterian is cleaned up (Atlantic City Press article) I live in Mercer County , NJ and have relatives buried in Broad Street Cemetery,Bridgeton,NJ. I would like to thank all who volunteered to clean up and right stones toppled by vandals at Broad Street Cemetery Bridgeton, NJ I visited the cemetery in 2000 and located several family members graves located in the SW Section Plot 488-489. I was unable to locate other family graves of Ephraim Shaw & wife Judith located in the NW Section, as I did not have the plot numbers. Could anyone tell me if a list of the plot numbers still exists.? Thanks again to all who gave there time and effort for this project. Bob Shaw Hamilton, NJ ______________________________